Boss backs Marney to bounce back

Chris Boden

Sean Dyche has no doubt Dean Marney can recover from a second serious knee injury in three seasons.

Marney has again suffered cruciate ligament damage to his right knee, almost two years to the day since a similar problem cruelly curtailed his contribution to Burnley's last Premier League campaign.

At the age of 32, it is a savage blow for the former Spurs and Hull City man, who has been at Turf Moor seven years in the summer.

Dyche has backed the midfielder to come back stronger again.

Asked if he had any concerns, Dyche said: "No. I think he’s a fit lad. He’s light and lean, which they tell me is helpful.

"I’m not sure what facts are with that, but they tell me it’s helpful. He’ll get full support. He knows that."

Two years ago, Marney was the second of four cruciate ligament injuries at the club in just under nine months, and this is another awful misfortune for the player: "He was telling me the other day that it wasn’t far from the exact date that he did it last time in the Premier League, which is just one of those bizarre twists of fate.

"At the time, I said: How do you define it? And Deano’s was one of them. When you see it, you can’t legislate for that. That’s not training methods or pitches or boots. That’s just a moment in time where you land awkwardly and a twist occurs.

"It was an innocuous kind of challenge. At the time, you can’t really tell, but afterwards, we looked back at it from the reverse angle, and it’s just when his foot actually lands into the floor. So it’s not the contact. It’s just when he lands, and it’s unfortunate that it twists as he lands."

Joey Barton has until Tuesday to answer an FA misconduct charge over alleged betting offences, and if he is suspended for a period of time, that could leave Burnley's central midfield options stretched.

With the transfer window closing on Tuesday night, does it mean the club have to step up their search for reinforcements?. Dyche said: "I don’t think that’s relevant. Don’t get me wrong; if we find somebody who’s appropriate, then we’re in a position to try to strengthen.

"It’s like anything. You’ve got to be aware of these situations, and it is a loss to lose a player.

"You lose a player for two weeks, most teams can carry two weeks, no matter who they played in that position. But it’s the longer period. That’s what the different thought is. So if something comes along that’s right for us, the availability is the key.This month, who wants to let their players go? Who wants to sell their players? Not many teams want to do that, so you can like them all you want. Unless all parties agree, then it ain’t going to happen."

It doesn't help that deadline day falls on a match day, and five years ago, Dyche saw how that can affect things when Watford boss, as he lost Marvin Sordell to Bolton while preparing for a trip to Millwall: "At Watford, we sold Marvin Sordell to Bolton before we played Millwall, an hour-and-a-half before, in a team meeting. We were just going into a team meeting, and I had to say: ‘Stop there, lads.’ I took a call and said he couldn’t play. I changed the team, won 2-0."